Uncategorized

It has been a while but we are hoping to make this more regular so you can keep posted on what is happening in our Federalist family.

Friends of JEF exists primarily to support the work of JEF Europe through financially supporting its activities and lending experience where possible. It is also a network to connect JEFers of all ages, because remember ‘once a JEFer, always a JEFer’. We hope in the next months to grow our network, and lend our strength to the Federalist cause as much as we can. It is because of this we encourage you tojoin Friends of JEF and donateif you can, but also to please tell your friends and fellow Federalists about this. We also really want to know you better as a subscriber to this newsletter, and so ask you to please complete our Contact Details Form. With this, we hope that we can better connect you to what is happening in JEF, ask you for help in better piecing together our history, and explore scope for ways we can work to support the Federalist cause, should you be someone with a little bit of free time or spare resources.

If you think you can lend some time to our work, or you might have knowledge that could be useful in any form, please get in touch with us on friends@jef.eu!

Since its beginnings in the late 1940s, tens of thousands of young Europeans have gone through the JEF experience. Friends of JEF is a platform that enables JEFers of different generations to keep in touch, reactivate lost contacts, and support the active generations.

An investment in a better future

JEF (Young European Federalists)is currently present with national sections in more than 40 countries all over Europe. Its eagerness to upgrade democracy , to strengthen the values of freedom and tolerance, and to reach out to all generations, all regions, and all social groups is stronger than ever. With its campaigns ranging from grassroot sections up to the decision-making hubs in Brussels, Strasbourg and worldwide, JEF is at once an effective local and global player.

“Last night, Paris was attacked, again. Not even a year after the Charlie Hebdo massacre in January, the French capital was hit even harder by several terrorist attacks, which have cost the lives of over a hundred people.

Yesterday night’s attacks in Paris leave us shocked, sad and angry. All of our thoughts and our compassion are with the victims and with those who have lost their loved ones, as well as with the French people, still in a state of shock.

Last night, not only Paris got hurt, but the whole of Europe felt the pain. This was not an attack on France as much as it was an attack on universal human values, on the very foundations of the free, open and democratic societies we strive to be. Our answer can only be to be ever more united in defending our European core values of freedom, democracy and peace.

We stand united and in solidarity with our friends from JEF France and beyond in these difficult moments. We believe that there is no better answer to hatred and terror than unity, solidarity and fraternity. We remain proud of the democratic values we stand for and we will continue fighting together for what we believe in. Just as the city of lights will never go dark, we will not allow fear, hate and menace to dim the light of democracy and liberty.

If some have ever thought there was no such thing as a European people, now is the time to prove them wrong. #NousSommesUnis”

Thanks to Jon we have relaunched the Friends of JEF website this weekend. Great new and simple design. Wordpress-based. Also, we now have a proper mailing system. As always, feedback is much welcome. Please let us know, if you miss any information or there are any bugs.

With the mailing system we may send a few more occasional emails but this should never spam your inboxes.

Where we would like to ask for your support is:
– sign up with your current email address.
– make sure that your JEF friends from the days have also signed up. You can now use this form here on this website to add your/their contact details.
– if you have any nice pictures or stories from your time, please send them over to the board and we are happy to add them to the photo gallery.

At its European Congress in Zurich on 24 October 2015 JEF-Europe adopted its policy for the coming two years and elected a new Bureau. Our president Jan had the chance to address the Congress and invite retiring JEFers to join the Friends of JEF.

For the next two years Christopher Glück and his team are now in chance and we wish them a strong federalist hand in their fight for a united Europe.

A big round of appreciation also goes to our board member Pauline Gessant for her dedicated four years as JEF president and the great contribution she and her team have made to the organisation.